Soft Sugar Cookies w/ Pink Frosting

If you follow me on Twitter, or if you're a fan of the HTEAC Facebook page, you already know that I was seriously craving these cookies today! I must admit, a lot of times when I have a particular craving, I don't always hit the nail on the head with the recipe I choose. Today, I did it! These cookies are exactly what I wanted. They're soft and moist without being cake-like. The flavor is bangin', and the frosting is... well... the icing on the cookie! I predict these cookies will disappear like a fart in a fan factory. And I'll just go ahead and make a check mark on my bucket list beside "Use the idiom 'disappear like a fart in a fan factory.'" CHECK! (PS: Sorry if you're grossed out. Stop thinking about farts and start thinking about cookies!)I figured I didn't want to spend all day smearing frosting on these cookies, so I made a shortcut by rolling some of them in pink sugar before baking. They looked so pretty. The cookies with the frosting are very sweet, but it didn't stop me from eating a whole one and two bites off a second one. I bet they'd be perfect for kids! This recipe is totally a keeper.For the frosting, I didn't use a recipe. I started with
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
I mixed in about
1-2 cups confectioners' sugar
until it was stiffened. Then I added about
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 drop red food coloring
and mixed until it was creamy and spreadable.

Soft Sugar Cookies (from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book)
Makes 2 dozen cookies

2 cups granulated sugar, divided
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
14 Tbsp (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Set oven rack in middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread 1/2 cup of the sugar in a shallow dish for coating and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.

Beat softened butter and remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar together in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-6 minutes. Beat in the vanilla then eggs, one at a time, until combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl & beaters as needed.

Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combineds. Give the dough a final stir with a rubber spatula to make sure dough is combined.

Line large baking sheets with parchment paper. Using damp palms, roll 2 tablespoons of dough at a time into balls, then roll in sugar to coat. Place balls on parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced 2 inches apart. Flatten cookies with the buttered bottom of a drinking glass, then sprinkle and remaining sugar over flattened tops. (I just layed a piece of plastic wrap over my cookies and pressed them with the bottom of a clean glass.)

Bake cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are set and just beginning to brown but the centers are still soft and puffy, 10-12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking. Allow cookies to cook on baking sheet for 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.


*takes a bow for using the word "fart" 4 times in a blog post about prissy pink cookies!!* ;D

Please welcome back to the blog, VANILLA CUPCAKES!

Cheers! Yay! *applause applause* How long has it been since you've seen cupcakes on this blog???? I'll tell you... It's been 10 MONTHS since a cupcake has been spotted here (the last cupcake was seen July 23, 2009)! Cupcakes and I have developed a love-hate relationship. I really wore them out over the past few years, so now I only make them if someones asks. Well no, that's incorrect. If someone BEGS me to make cupcakes, I'll do it.

So... the wife of one of Josh's co-workers has never had a cupcake. *gasp* I know, right!? Anyway, Josh told her if she'd send some lumpia to work with her husband, then he'd bring in some cupcakes from me. Since she's sent in lumpia twice already, I guess it's high time I held up Josh's end of the bargain. And since I recently met her in person, along with his other co-workers who BEGGED me to make cupcakes for them, how could I say no??

I had forgotten all about my old standby recipes for vanilla cupcakes. Did I ever even settle on one? Knowing me, probably not. I rarely settle on recipes, even if by most people's standards the recipes are flawless. I digress...

Since I'm planning on opening my own bakery, I figured it would be a wise idea to learn baker's math. It's something I'll need to know in order to adjust and write my own recipes. I sat down with my copy of BakeWise by Shirley O. Corriher. There is no one in the baking industry I would trust more than her. Plus, my heart flutters a bit when she makes an appearance on Good Eats! ;) After traveling back in time to my community college days and scribbling a page and a half of notes, I felt pretty confident that I could look at any basic cake recipe with ingredients measured by weight, and along with the help of a calculator, I would be able to tell whether or not the recipes were accurately written according to baker's math. I would also be able to tell whether a cake was high-ratio (more moist but with a weaker structure) or lean (less moist but with a strong structure). For more info on baker's math, I strongly suggest anyone who's interested to read BakeWise!

First, I tested a recipe from The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. The measurements were accurate, but I didn't like the texture of the cake made using the reverse creaming (or two-stage) method (the cake was very crumbly/sandy and gave a false impression of dryness). Next, I found a good looking recipe in The Cake Book by Tish Boyle. It's ingredients were also accurate (with the exception of the weight of the eggs not being greater than or equal to the weight of the fat, but that's a whoooole other blog entry). This recipe utilized the creaming method, which produces a better mouthfeel, IMHO. This recipe is a winner. It has a soft texture without being SO soft that it crumbles into tiny particles in your mouth. The flavor is delicious, but the cake flour has a very detectable taste. Anyone else notice that about Swans Down? Anyway, I frosted the cupcakes with one of the few go-to's I live by, Swiss meringue buttercream, and sent them off with Josh. I'll update later with his co-workers comments! :)
In the next shot, you can sort see how moist and shiny the cake looks... and those luscious vanilla bean flecks!Basic Golden Cake Layers (from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle)
Makes 2 9-inch cake layers (or about 30 cupcakes)

3 1/4 cups (11.5 oz/325 g) sifted cake flour (notice it doesnt say "cake flour, sifted." SIFT FIRST, and WEIGH it!)
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks/8 oz/227 g) unsalted butter, softened (around 65-67°F)
1 1/2 cups (10.6 oz/300 g) granulated sugar (I used vanilla sugar)
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups (320 ml) whole milk

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom and sides of two 9-inch round cake pans. Dust the pans with flour.

Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk to combine, and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium-high speed until creamy, about 30 seconds. Gradually add the sugar and beat at high speed until light, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs and egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the vanilla extract.

If you have a splatter shield for your mixer, attach it now (the milk tends to splash up as you add it). Add the flour mixture at low speed in three additions, alternating it with the milk in additions and mixing just until the flour is incorporated. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans, dividing it evenly, and smooth the tops.

Bake the cake for 25 to 30 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges (my cupcakes baked for about 16-17 minutes). Cool the cakes in the pans on wire racks for 15 minutes. Invert the layers onto the racks and cool completely.

Store at room temperature, covered in foil, for up to 5 days.


Swiss Meringue Buttercream (my own recipe)
Makes enough to frost 30 cupcakes generously

6 egg whites
2 cups granulated sugar
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 tablespoons vanilla extract

Put egg whites and sugar into the top of a double boiler over a pan of simmering water. Whisking constantly, cook until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm (about 160 degrees).

Pour heated egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg white mixture on high speed until it forms stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until completely cooled to room temperature, about 7 minutes (it may take longer).

Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium, add butter two tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Increase speed to high; continue beating until frosting comes together, about 3 minutes (it may take longer). During this time, the frosting may appear runny or curdled. Just keep beating it. If it seems to be taking too long, let it rest in the refrigerator for 10 minutes before returning it to the mixer on high speed.

Stir in vanilla extract.

IronCupcake_012: Marbled Lavender & Honey Cupcakes

Iron Cupcake:Earth_012
Theme: Herbs
My entry: Marbled Lavender & Honey Cupcakes
Voting begins: Tuesday, July 28 @ http://www.ironcupcakemilwaukee.com/ and will be open through Wednesday, August 5 at 12 noon Central.

Another last minute Iron Cupcake entry! Man, I gotta work on completing the Iron Cupcake challenge before the end of the month! Anyway, I made these Tuesday night for wing night. I knew I wanted to use lavender as my herb of choice, but I was worried the flavor would be overpowering. No way! I added some crushed lavender leaves to a basic vanilla cupcake recipe, and I ended up with a delicate, lavender-scented cupcake! To make them even fancier, I divided the batter and colored some of it purple. I swirled it into the white batter to give it a marbled look. Then for the frosting, I made a very simple buttercream with some honey added to it. It was just enough to accent the lavender flavor without overpowering it. These are probably the prissiest, most delicate cupcakes I've ever made. But don't let the dainty appearance fool you because they are DELICIOUS! ;D

Pretty marbled cupcakes... Oh btw, all of you searching for the perfect domed cupcake recipe... I FOUND IT! Marbled Lavender Cupcakes... Want a bite????? ;P

Marbled Lavender Cupcakes (adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes)
Makes 16

1 3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk, room temperature
1/3 cup heavy cream, room temperature
2 tablespoons lavender leaves, finely chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Honey Frosting (my own recipe)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Food coloring, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine milk and cream.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream chopped lavender, butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two addi­tions of milk mixture, and beating until combined.
3. Measure out 1 cup batter, and transfer to another bowl. Stir purple food coloring into reserved 1 cup batter.
4. Fill prepared cups with alternating spoonfuls of white and purple batter, filling each three-quarters full. Run the tip of a paring knife or wooden skewer through batter in a figure-eight motion to make swirls. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until tops are golden and a cake tes­ter inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes (Mine were done at about 18 minutes). Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
5. To make frosting, combine all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on low until combined. Increase speed to high and whip for 1 minute.

Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 5
Tenderness: 5
Frosting: 5 (mmm... honey!)



Prizes provided by Etsy artists:
A sweet cupcake ID bracelet by INSANEJELLYFISH
A delicious treat from CIRCLEMONKEY
Also, CAKESPY, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice!
SWEET CUPPIN CAKES CUPCAKERY will be tossing in sweet surprise.
Corporate prize providers:
HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS
HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson
JESSIE STEELE APRONS
CUPCAKE COURIER
TASTE OF HOME books
UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM
Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers

Zucchini Bars w/ Spiced Brown Butter Frosting

Ladies and gentlemen, please stand and welcome my guest for this post, zucchini!!! Umm... you, yeah you, why aren't you standing? What, you don't like zucchini?? My friend, obviously you have not met these zucchini bars! One bite and I promise you and zucchini will be BFFs!! You don't believe me? Well, I wish I could tempt you with a mouth-watering photograph, but sadly my good camera is sitting in our camper at a campground about 45 minutes away! You'll have to take my word for it that these are totally delicious! It doesn't taste like scary vegetables. It tastes like perfectly moist, extremely flavorful cake with a bit of crunch from some chopped walnuts. It's more like a cake than a "bar." And since it's filled with shredded zucchini, you can forget about all the butter and sugar that's in it and pretend like you're eating healthy! According to my mom, it's in her top 10 best things I've ever baked. I tweaked the frosting a bit by browning the butter first. That really takes the flavor to a new level, but it's just too sweet for my taste. Next time, I'd reduce the frosting recipe by half and just drizzle it on. But other than that, this recipe from The Taste of Home Baking Book is definitely worthy of an A+!
C'mon, you know me! Have I ever put writing on any of my photos? I mean, unless it was for a promo (like for my Christmas Cookie Caper). But other than that, I never put text on my photos because I think it's extremely distracting. Well, in this case that's exactly why I did it. I had to use my old camera for this entry, and it is NOT good for food photography! The best I could do was distract you with words! How 'bout that recipe!!!...

Frosted Cinnamon Zucchini Bars (from The Taste of Home Baking Book)
Yields a 1-inch high cake in a 13-x9-inch pan
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
(I added 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt)
2 cups shredded zucchini (about 2 medium zucchini**)
1 cup flaked coconut (I left this out because I didn't want any flavors competing with the zucchini)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

FROSTING:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (I bumped it up to 4 tablespoons and browned it in a saucepan)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons milk

(**Put your shredded zucchini into a lint-free dish towel and squeeze out the excess water. The recipe doesn't say to do this, but if you don't you'll get a soggy cake.)
1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, beating well (at least 15 seconds) after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder, (and salt); gradually add to the creamed mixture. (Mix just until a few streaks of flour remain.) Stir in zucchini, coconut, and nuts. Spread into a greased 15-x10-x1-inch baking pan (I baked mine in a 13x9 and my cake was only 1-inch high. If you bake it in the 15x10 pan your cake is gonna be paper thin!).
2. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. For frosting, combine confectioners' sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir in the butter, vanilla, and enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Frost bars before cutting.

Ina Garten's (Toasted) Coconut Cupcakes

UPDATE: I wrote this entry when I was the only one who had tasted the cupcakes. The concensus from the wing-nighters is that these are the BEST cupcakes so far! One wing-nighter had this to say: "Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!" :D If that's not proof enough that this is a winning recipe, I dunno what you want... a sacrificial lamb? No thanks.

Strawberry cupcakes won the poll... but as you can see this post isn't about strawberry cupcakes. Well, what had happened was... It started raining before I had a chance to go out and find local strawberries. And the strawberries at the grocery store were from Florida. This time of year I can get beautiful strawberries that were grown only 10 minutes from my house. I wasn't going to settle. No offense, Florida. Anyway, if you voted for strawberry cupcakes, please direct your complaints to The Rain. Thanks!

On the other hand, if you voted for coconut cupcakes, feel free to direct all your exuberant exclamations to ME! Thank you! Thank you! *Takes a bow* You like me! You really like me! (Am I too young for that joke??) Excuse me, let me get myself back together. These cupcakes are the SHIZZ! They are sort of a re-imagining of Ina's coconut cupcakes. I made them with toasted coconut (for Josh! Am I a good girlfriend or what!). I also used buttermilk powder instead of buttermilk. I cut the recipe in half, but I used 3 eggs instead of 2 1/2 (the original recipe calls for 5 eggs). These are fantastic! The toasted coconut flavor really comes through. The almond extract is a good co-starring flavor, but it doesn't steal the spotlight. And the cream cheese frosting... well that needs no added explanation. These are definitely a 5 all the way across my ratings board! :D

Can you smell that yummy toasted coconut?? My favorite step...
...Creaming the butter and sugar until FLUFFY!
After the last addition of flour, I like to finish mixing by hand.
The recipe says to fill the cups to the top. I NEVER do that, but I decided to try it on 4 cupcakes...
The cupcakes I did not fill all the way to the top came out looking nice.
The full cups overflowed a bit and looked like mushrooms.
Ohhhhh yeah......
I urge you to add this to your "to-bake" list. The toasted coconut sends you straight into nirvana!

Ina Garten's Coconut Cupcakes (halved and with minute changes)
Makes about 16 (The original recipe says it makes 18-20, half would be 9-10... umm who are they kidding?)

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup sugar
3 eggs (original recipe calls for 5, half would be 2 1/2...)
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup buttermilk (I used 2 tablespoons of buttermilk powder mixed into the dry ingredients and substituted 1/2 cup of water here)
7 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut (toasted, if you like; to toast, preheat the oven to 375F. Spread coconut evenly on a cookie sheet. Bake for 5 minutes. Stir the coconut and bake for 5 more minutes. Keep an eye on it because it burns quickly.)

Frosting
1/2 pound (1 8-oz. pkg.) cream cheese, room temp (I prefer to make mine with cold cream cheese)
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 3 1/2 ounces of coconut (I took into consideration that my toasted coconut would have less moisture and therefore weigh less. I only added 2 1/2 ounces of it to the batter. And I crushed it with my hands to allow the flavor to spread more evenly throughout the batter).

Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes (Mine were done at 19 minutes), until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.

Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.

Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 5
Tenderness: 5
Frosting: 5

Milk Chocolate Malt Ball Cupcakes

Those "Baked" boys have done it again! Of course I'm referring to Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, authors of Baked: New Frontiers in Baking. This is the second recipe I've tried from this awesome book, and it's just as fabulous as the first one! If you don't remember, I made their Red Hot Velvet Cake in cupcake form a few months ago, and it became my new favorite red velvet recipe! I don't know how often I'll need a go-to recipe for Malt Ball Cake, but this one is definitely it! The cake itself is so soft, it nearly falls apart in your hands. Some of the cupcake wrappers were even coming loose from the cake! Now, usually I'd see that as a bad thing. But since these cupcakes are so freakin good, WHO CARES IF THE WRAPPER IS FALLING OFF?? It's just giving you a head start! ;D Let's talk about this frosting. At first I was nervous, because I've never had good results when ganache is involved in the frosting recipe. And I did have to do things a little differently than the book said in order to get my frosting to a good constistency. But once it was there, it was heaven! My dad says it's so light, you almost don't feel it when you're biting into the cupcake! And it's so chocolatey! You don't even need to scroll to the bottom of this post to know that these cupcakes get a 5 out of 5 all the way across the board!

PS: In case you didn't notice, these cupcakes came in dead last in the poll. The whole time I was making them, I was in fear of being drug (dragged? drug?) out in the street and stoned by you guys for breaking my own poll rules. I hope you trust me that they were WAY worth the rule-breaking! ;) Don't worry though, you'll see the actual winning cupcakes sometime soon. I pinky promise!



Oh I guess you wanna know how I made those little Easter egg nests on top, don't you?? There's really no recipe, but I can give you the general idea. I toasted about 1/2 cup shredded coconut and let it cool. Then I melted umm... maybe 1 cup of guittard dark chocolate apeels? Maybe more? I'm not entirely sure, it was just the last I had and I didn't measure. Then carefully stir the toasted coconut into the chocolate, making sure not to break it up too badly. Spoon it onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Press a few malt ball eggs into the "nests." Pop the sheet into the freezer for a few minutes to harden the chocolate. And TADA! Do whatever you want with them! :D

MILK CHOCOLATE MALT BALL CAKE (halved from Baked; original quantities in gray yield 3 8-inch cake layers or approximately 32 cupcakes)
Makes 16 cupcakes
“You can find Carnation brand malted milk powder in most local grocery stores, or you can substitute malt Ovaltine.”

FOR THE MALT CAKE LAYERS
1 cup + 2 tablespoons cake flour (2 1/4 cups)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (3/4 cup)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (1 tablespoon)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (1 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon salt (3/4 teaspoon)
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (1/4 teaspoon)
1/2 cup malted milk powder (1 cup)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup vegetable shortening (1/2 cup)
1 cup sugar (2 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla (1 tablespoon)
1 cup ice cold water (2 cups)
2 egg whites (4)

FOR THE MILK CHOCOLATE FROSTING
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (8 ounces)
4 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped (8 ounces)
3/4 cup heavy cream (1 1/2 cups)
1 tablespoon light corn syrup (2 tablespoons)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into 1-inch pieces (1 1/2 cups [3 sticks])

MAKE THE MALT CAKE LAYERS (or cupcakes!)
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and butter the parchment. Dust with flour, and knock out the excess flour. (For cupcakes, line your muffin pans with paper liners, duh silly!)
Sift the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg together into a large bowl. whisk in the malted milk powder. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening on medium speed until creamy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the ice water, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down the bowl, then mix on low speed for a few more seconds.
In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Do not overbeat. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
Divide the batter among the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes (or 18-20 minutes for cupcakes), rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Transfer the cakes to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the rack, remove the pans, and let cool completely. Remove the parchment.

MAKE THE MILK CHOCOLATE FROSTING
Place both chocolates in the bowl of an electric mixer. In a small saucepan, bring the cream and corn syrup to a boil, then remove from the heat and immediately pour the mixture over the chocolate. Let stand for 2 to 3 minutes. Starting in the center of the bowl and working your way out to the edges, whisk the chocolate mixture until completely smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
With the electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, on medium speed gradually add the butter pieces and mix until thoroughly incorporated. The frosting should be completely smooth and have a silky look.

ASSEMBLE THE CAKE
Refrigerate the frosting for a few minutes (but no more), until it can hold its shape. (Here’s a helpful tip from yours truly: Chill the frosting until it feels cool to the touch, about 10 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high until the frosting lightens in color, about 10-20 seconds. This is makes the frosting a lot easier to spread than the way they suggest making it!) Place one cake layer on a serving platter. Trim the top to create a flat surface and evenly spread about 1 1/4 cups of the frosting on top. Top with the next layer, trim and frost the top, then add the third layer and trim. Crumb coat the cake and put the cake in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to firm up the frosting. Frost the sides and top with the remaining frosting. Garnish the cake with the malted milk balls and refrigerate again for 15 minutes.

This cake will keep beautifully in a cake saver at room temperature (cool and humidity free) for up to 3 days. If your room is not cool, place the cake in a cake saver and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours before serving.

Chocolate Cookie Dough Cupcakes

In honor of January 27 being National Chocolate Cake Day, last week's poll featured all chocolate cupcakes. The winner with 206 votes is Chocolate Cookie Dough Cupcakes! First, I just wanna say THANK YOU to everyone who voted. I'm so glad the majority of you picked this one! Two summers ago, my cousin and I made Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes from Cupcakes from the Cake Mix Doctor. They were freakin awesome. I've been dying to make them again ever since! This time I made the cupcake part from scratch instead of using a box mix. I also wanted it to be chocolate. The batter needed to be thick in order to support the big ball of frozen cookie dough, but all of my favorite chocolate cupcake recipes are really thin. I remembered that the chocolate batter from the Neapolitan Cupcakes was very thick, so I went with that one. Keep in mind that these cupcakes need to be refrigerated. Cupcakes made from scratch, especially those made with butter, tend to become hard when refrigerated. In my opinion these cupcakes are best when they're cold. Just something about biting into that cold, chewy cookie dough sends me through the roof! So if you want your cupcakes to stay soft in the fridge, I recommend using cake mix. However, these cupcakes seemed to work really well with the cookie dough, even when cold. They did become hard in the fridge, but they were still moist. So it was almost like eating a brownie with cookie dough inside! And the frosting... oh the frosting... it's a light, whipped cream cheese frosting with bits of homemade (eggless) cookie dough. This whole cupcake is to die for. The Cookie Dough Cupcake definitely wins my vote as the best cupcake ever invented!

Ingredients...It's so strange how something can go from this...

...To this in 22 minutes! :D

Isn't that just insane??

You know it's good when you sacrifice nutrition to have this for breakfast!

Now for the recipes....
I couldn't find a roll of cookie dough smaller than 1 lb. so I just used half of that. You need 8 oz. of frozen or refrigerated cookie dough. Cut it into 12 pieces. Roll them into balls and freeze them for 1 hour. Then make the cupcakes...

Chocolate Cupcakes (from MarthaStewart.com)
Makes 12
Ingredients
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan (I increased this to 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup cocoa powder (I reduced this to 1/4 cup; Use original amounts if you want a really chocolatey cupcake)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a standard 12-cup muffin pan, or use paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; add vanilla, and mix until combined. On low speed, beat in half the flour mixture, followed by milk; end with remaining flour mixture. Mix just until incorporated (do not overmix).
Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Place a ball of frozen cookie dough on top of each cup (do not push it in). Bake until a toothpick inserted near the center of a cupcake (but not in the cookie dough) comes out clean, 22 to 24 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan, 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cookie Dough Frosting (I found this recipe on a message board that has since been erased; This makes enough for 24 cupcakes, so I halved it)
For the cookie dough
¼ cup butter, softened
¼ cup brown sugar, plus 2 tbsp
2 tsp water
½ tsp vanilla
½ cup flour
¼ tsp salt
1/3 cup miniature chocolate chips

For the frosting
1 ½ cup heavy whipping cream
8 ozs cream cheese, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar (I reduced this to 2/3 cup)
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

For the cookie dough, cream the butter and brown sugar in a small bowl. Add water and vanilla and mix well. Add flour and salt and stir to combine. Stir in 1/3 cup Mini Morsels. Wrap the dough in waxed paper and freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. Break dough into 1/4 teaspoon sized chunks and place the chunks on a plate or in a plastic container, separating layers with waxed paper.
Store them in the refrigerator until ready to use.

To make the frosting, in a medium bowl (a cold bowl with cold beaters) beat the whipping cream until stiff peaks form (do not overbeat); set aside. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes until smooth. Fold in the whipped cream. Fold the frozen cookie dough chunks into the frosting and immediately frost the cooled cupcakes.

Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 4
Tenderness: 4 (Before being refrigerated)
Frosting: 5
Deliciousness: 100!!!

Apple Cider Cupcakes

This recipe was submitted by Jennifer Buter. The recipe comes from epicurious.com and was printed in the October 1991 issue of Gourmet Magazine. Jennifer has this recipe on her "to-bake" list, but asked that I try it out first. Here is my opinion...

I love it when recipes come with reviews. I trust reviewers more than I would trust some random recipe. So when I read one review that stated, "Overall this is an atrocity of a recipe," I knew there would have to be some tweaking involved. I relied on my instincts mostly. I substituted butter for half of the shortening (This was my first time ever using shortening in a cake; I probably won't do it again, mostly because it has no flavor. But also because shortening for real just wierds me out!). [[EDIT: Umm holy crap, I'm an idiot. I just noticed in the picture I took of the ingredients... I totally used 3/4 cup of shortening AND 3/4 of a stick of butter. Hahaha, okay screw this whole recipe!]] I doubled the amount of baking soda. I also reduced the amount of sugar, as I do with a lot of recipes. Most reviewers said that the apple cider flavor was very minimal, so I boiled the cider down to less that the recipe called for, hoping to end up with a more concentrated flavor. I made up for the extra liquid by adding some whole milk. Also, when I boiled the cider, I added a tablespoon of mulling spices to enhance the flavor. It wasn't noticeable in the cupcake, however. I recommend upping it to 2 or 3 tablespoons of mulling spice.

The resulting cupcake was a dull, wierd flavored, yet moist and tender cupcake. The frosting had a nice twang to it, but it was very soft. The temperature stated in the recipe was too high. I was thinking to myself as I was preheating the oven, "When was the last time I baked cupcakes at 375 degrees??" The cupcakes got very brown and almost tasted like the crust on white bread (freakin ew!). You would have no clue these were made with apple cider unless you were told. In that case, you'd still be lying if you said "Oh yeah, now I can taste it!" In the words of Mythbusters, this recipe is busted!

Ingredients Notice I have 3/4 cup shortening AND 3/4 stick of butter. I'm a retard, thanks.

At least the batter was yummy!

I hate spending extra $$ on cute liners that wrinkle when you put them in the pans!

They even look like bread crust, don't they!

Making the frosting... reduced cider + sugar...

Mixed until it's smooth. (This picture is before the addition of cream cheese. Don't worry, the frosting isn't that runny!!)

The end...

You can get the mulling spices as Williams-Sonoma. They smell so good!

For the cupcakes
3 cups unpasteurized apple cider (I added 1 tablespoon of mulling spice; I recommend 2-3 tablespoons)
3/4 cup vegetable shortening (I effed up the amount of fat in this recipe. I accidentally added 3/4 of a stick of butter instead of substituting it for half of the shortening!)
1 3/4 cups sugar (I reduced this to 1 cup)
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon (I reduced this to 1/2 teaspoon because I used spices in the cider)
1 teaspoon baking soda (I used 2 teaspoons)
Pinch of salt (I used 1/4 teaspoon)

For the icing
2 cups apple cider
6 ounces cream cheese, cut into bits and softened (I used 8 ounces)
1/2 cup sifted confectioners' sugar (I used 1 cup)

Preparation
Make the cupcakes: In a large saucepan boil the cider (and mulling spices) until it is reduced to about 1 1/2 cups and let it cool (strain the spices). In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat together the shortening and the sugar until the mixture is fluffy and beat in the eggs, 1 at a time. Into the bowl sift together the flour, the cloves, the cinnamon, the baking soda, and a pinch of salt, stir in the reduced cider, and combine the mixture well. Divide the batter among 18 paper-lined 1/2-cup muffin tins and bake the cupcakes in the middle of a preheated 375°F (I'd reduce the temp to 350°) oven for 25 minutes (check them about 5 minutes early just in case), or until a tester comes out clean. Transfer the cupcakes to a rack, let them cool in the tins, and remove them from the tins.
Make the icing: In a saucepan boil the cider (and mulling spices) until it is reduced to about 1/4 cup and let it cool (strain the spices). In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together the cream cheese, the confectioners' sugar, the reduced cider, and a pinch of salt until the icing is smooth (I omitted the salt, and mixed the sugar and cider together first before adding the cream cheese).
Spread each cupcake with some of the icing.

Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 4
Flavor: 1
Tenderness: 5
Frosting: 3 (too soft and kinda boring)

Mr. Goodbar Cupcakes

Sorry there was no poll this week. My dad chose the cupcake flavor, and he reigns supreme! Ever since I was little, I can remember my dad buying those bags of fun-size Hershey's assorted candy bars. His favorite is and has always been Mr. Goodbar (with Special Dark at a close 2nd). Recently over dinner, he randomly suggested that I make Mr. Goodbar cupcakes. How could I say no?? If you are not familiar with Mr. Goodbar, it's a milk chocolate candy bar with chopped peanuts mixed in. For the cupcake version, I made peanut butter cupcakes with a piece of Mr. Goodbar baked on top. Then I topped them with milk chocolate frosting. I had a hard time with this frosting recipe. It's from Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman. The original recipe was soupy like a glaze and not very chocolatey. I probably ended up adding about 6 more ounces of chocolate plus another cup of confectioners' sugar before I got it to a spreadable consistency. I won't be making it again. The cupcakes themselves, however, are DELICIOUS! Very peanut buttery! I'll definitely call this recipe from Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans a keeper!

PS: Remember this idea when you have a Halloween bag FULL of those fun-sized candy bars and don't want your kids overdosing on candy!

Ingredients Butter, brown sugar, and peanut butter ready to meet each other!

Deeeeeelicious batter!

Ready for the oven!Cooling and looking good so far! Tada! I used peanuts from a bag of trail mix so they'd be unsalted. :D Doesn't that look so yummy!?

MY NOTES: I don't recommend the frosting recipe. It's hard to work with, very sweet, and does not have a pronounced chocolate flavor.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes (from Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans)
Makes 12-14 (Recipe says 12, I got 14)

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup milk (any fat content)

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin tin cups with paper cupcake liners.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar until smoothly blended and lightened in color, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Mix in the egg. Add the vanilla and beat for 1 minute, or until the batter is smooth. On low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 additions and the milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and mixing just until the flour is incorporated and the batter looks smooth.

Fill each paper liner with a generous ¼ cup of batter, to about 1/3 inch below the top of the liner. (At this point, I placed ½ of a bite sized Mr. Goodbar in the center of each cupcake and lightly pressed it down.) Bake just until the tops feel firm and are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 22 minutes (If you put chocolate on yours, insert the toothpick from the side diagonally toward the center). There may be a few small cracks on top. Cool the cupcakes for 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack.

Carefully place the wire rack on top of the cupcakes in their pan. Protecting your hands with pot holders and holding the pan and rack together, invert them to release the cupcakes onto the wire rack. Turn the cupcakes top side up to cool completely.

Milk Chocolate Frosting (from Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman)
3 oz. milk chocolate (I ended up using about 10 oz altogether!)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 2/3 cups confectioners' sugar (I added another 3/4 cup to make it spreadable)
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat chocolate and butter in a double boiler or microwave until just melted. Remove from heat and cool.
Using a whisk or wooden spoon, beat sugar, salt, cream, and vanilla until smooth. Add cooled chocolate mixture and beat until blended. (If frosting is too soft, put it in the fridge for 10-20 minutes to harden it a bit. Beat it again until it becomes spreadable.)

Overall rating on a scale of 1-5
Moistness: 4
Tenderness: 5
Frosting: 2